LONDON: Arsene Wenger believes the determination of his young side to become successful is the driving force behind its early season surge to the top of the Premier League.
The Gunners ensured its place at the top of the table with an emphatic 5-0 demolition of Derby at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, Emmanuel Adebayor scoring a hat-trick and Abou Diaby and Cesc Fabregas also finding the net.
The Gunners are now unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions this season and the Arsenal manager is delighted with the mindset of his players.
"We had a difficult Champions League game in midweek but even when it looked to have become easy against Derby we kept our concentration on the quality of our game," brimmed the Frenchman.
"That is enjoyable to watch. The players kept a good collective game and they mean business. They are not there to show off. They want to achieve something together."
Derby found it difficult to compete, and found themselves a goal behind within ten minutes as Abou Diaby unleashed an unstoppable 16m drive into the top corner of the net after evading two ineffective challenges.
The Frenchman came close again soon after, before Adebayor scored his first of the afternoon on 25 minutes as he took the ball past visiting goalkeeper Stephen Bywater.
A match like this can affect the confidence of sides like Derby, and manager Billy Davies will hope the second half has not damaged morale within his ranks.
Adebayor scored again on 49 minutes, this time from the penalty spot, after Matt Oakley pulled back Eduardo.
And Spanish international Fabregas, who is in terrific form, scored goal number four with 20 minutes remaining.
Adebayor completed a hat-trick - the first of his Arsenal career - in the 79th minute after great control on the edge of the area.
Fabregas is the player on everybody's lips in north London at the moment. His strike here was his seventh of the season, but Wenger is not worried about him developing an ego problem.
"Naturally, he is very hard on himself," Wenger explained. "He is very demanding and has his feet on the ground.
"His form shows the psychological boost you get when you are scoring goals."
Derby manager Davies is adamant that its poor record away will not have an impact on whether it beats relegation this campaign, despite the fact it had lost 4-0 at Tottenham and 6-0 at Liverpool before this defeat.
The teams has managed to collect four points so far, and face Sammy Lee's Bolton side next.
"It is no embarrassment to come here and get taught these lessons," Davies insisted afterwards. "Matches against Bolton, Reading and Fulham are the games where we need to pick up points. At Pride Park we are delighted to play against anyone. Away from home, we will play sides who play in Europe that have so much quality. The gap is enormous, but we are getting better with every match."
Davies also gave special praise to Adebayor, who has taken on the burden of leading the Arsenal attack following the summer departure of Thierry Henry for Barcelona.
"He is a star. Look at his play and his physical presence. He also has fantastic movement and, for me, he is one of the best strikers around."
Source: China Daily/Agencies
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